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Snowflake
Snowflake was the Alpha female of the Northwood pack, and thus its primary leader figure. She is generally viewed as an exceptionally pretty wolf; her fur is a very pure white which is rare among wolves, and her eyes golden, close to the color of the afternoon sun. Pre-series Snowflake was born to the original Alphas of the pack, who both died soon after her birth; she never even knew their names, as she didn't bring it up to Sky, considering the blue-eyed adult wolf to be her real mother anyway. She was part of a litter of three, which also included Ivy and Timber, and was close to Willow and Sea from a very young age. In fact, although the others saw Sky (or simply the cave around them) upon first awakening, Snowflake first laid eyes on Sea, and coherently wondered who the grey-furred pup might be. This poses a possible explanation for the particularly close bond she would always share with the blue-eyed wolf. She was strong from the very beginning - both physically and in personality - and thus, she might have had the least trouble surviving in the harsh winter of her first few months. She also showed leader-like abilities from a very young age, presumably inherited from one of her unknown parents, although they would not truly emerge until much later. Book One Aside from her part in the foreshadowing scene of the prologue, Snowflake was the third to emerge with dialogue in the first chapter, after she was prodded awake by Sea and convinced, against Willow's wishes, to accompany her on an exploration of the territory around their cave. Although she took Willow's side of the argument, Snowflake was happy enough to follow her blue-eyed friend when she left the cave; she was always something of a neutral character, neither a habitual rule-breaker or goodie-goodie. However, reflecting back, she would regret the ease with which she had given in, as it led to Shade, of the Darkwood pack, discovering them. Once they were given the chance to run, Snowflake volunteered herself and Sea to run on foot, allowing Willow to be carried by Sky. Normally, Snowflake would stand no chance of even keeping up with Sea, much less the adult Sky, but in this case adrenaline seemed to lend her speed, and she kept up easily enough. Left by Sky at the cave, Snowflake huddled with the rest, although she tried where she could to keep them from panicking. There she waited until sunset, until she finally realized that someone needed to check on Sky. She would have been happy to volunteer herself, but Willow did first. She soon returned, bloodsoaked, to tell them that Sky was dead and that they needed to run. Snowflake had little reaction to Sky's death, partly because she was focused on surviving and partly because she was simply numb. In one day, her world had turned into something completely different than it had before; it was too much for her to take in at that time. Shortly after they had begun their long run from Darkwood, the discussion about positions came up. It was, for the most part, a short discussion, one which ended with Snowflake being chosen as the Alpha female. This was mainly due to process of elimination, but Snowflake had already shown that she would make a good leader - aside from Ivy, she was the only one who had remained entirely calm throughout the entirety of the crisis. She chose Ivy as her beta, and was then subsequently drawn aside by the newly named second-in-command so that she could make her first decision as Alpha: the fate of a wolf that Ivy had just captured. Snowflake talked to the wolf, and soon discovered that his name was Storm, and also that he was not, as Ivy had assumed, a Darkwood wolf, but instead from the mountain pack Soaringpeak. After a short discussion with him, she offered him the chance to join the pack, which he accepted. In the split, Snowflake went with Timber and Willow; she spent most of that part of the journey teasing them about the growing connection between them, but otherwise had little significance until months after they had arrived in the valley. Snowflake was the first to encounter the rogues, which were to become one of the biggest threats to her pack. Out wandering alone, she encountered Fang, a psychotic rogue. Snowflake was attacked and overpowered and was moments away from being killed when she was rescued by a dark brown wolf. The newcomer managed to kill Fang, but sustained injuries in the process and collapsed, bleeding. Snowflake went to his side, and he stayed conscious long enough to give her his name: Pine. Then he fell into unconsciousness. Snowflake took him to Willow, and then spent most of her time pacing outside the healing den where he was, waiting for him to wake up. A few weeks later, he did, and Willow allowed Snowflake in to speak to him. Snowflake talked to him for awhile, and he told her that he had grown up as a rogue - though, as he said, he preferred the term "loner" - and was raised well enough that he wasn't like other rogues. Snowflake, who liked him very much by this time, offered him a place in the pack, which he accepted. A short time later, Snowflake led her pack to its first battle, against the rogues that had been terrorizing them. Her leadership role did not assert itself much here, as her pack seemed to fall into equality as they fought the three rogues. She spent the majority of the time fighting against the dark grey, mentally unstable female, but nevertheless seemed to hold her own; fighting was in her blood, as it is in most wolves'. Near the end, Willow assisted her in the fight, and together they managed to inflict enough wounds on the rogue that she collapsed and soon died. Neither of them dealt an official death blow, but they caused the rogue's death nonetheless. Snowflake spent the next couple of months healing from the wounds that had been inflicted on her during the fight, as well as bonding with each of her pack members - both the ones she had grown up with and the newcomers. Her life's next major event would come two weeks later, when she was out wandering after dark, restless, and heard a wolf call for help. Snowflake rushed to find him, but couldn't detect any scent at first; she encountered Ivy, and the two of them collaborated to track down the source of the cry. They finally did, and found Timber lying in the river, dead. After a brief paralysis, the death of her brother knocked Snowflake to pieces. She did her best to stay strong - for example, she agreed to help Ivy break the news to Willow and Sea - but something inside her was very damaged. Weeks after his death, she was approached by Pine, who insisted that she accompany him somewhere. He took her to the top of a hill, clear except for one cherry tree, and told her to sit there - even when it began to rain. Snowflake, though skeptical, agreed; however, once it began raining hard, she understood why, as it made abreathtaking scene. She was considerably cheered, lifted out of the depression that had fallen upon her after Timber's death, although she would retain a certain new seriousness, and she also grew much closer to Pine.